4 Best Hotels in Financial District, San Francisco

Each luxurious room at the city's second Four Seasons has spectacular city and bay views; the hotel occupies the top 11 floors in two wings connected by a glass skybridge atop one of San Francisco's tallest and most recognizable buildings. There are touches of San Francisco history throughout the chic, wonderfully appointed guest rooms—headboard reading lights inspired by the city's streetcars; gold wall coverings in the terrace suites—and guests can rely on all the usual Four Seasons pampering with a spiffy fitness center, spacious rooms at all levels, cotton bathrobes and slippers, massive flat-screen TVs, and deep soaking tubs in most of the bathrooms.

At the edge of the FiDi and Union Square areas, this boutique hotel manages to be both hip and welcoming, with modern touches on historical bones and cozy guest rooms with all the technological amenities modern travelers require. Guests lounge in the lobby by the hotel’s pièce de résistance, a massive, hand-sculpted art-nouveau fireplace that looks like it leaped out of a fairy tale. For guests visiting on business or working remotely, the marble-topped desks with ergonomic chairs (and the Illy espresso machine for caffeine) are a big plus.

Business travelers patronize this centrally located Hilton for its airy guest rooms and large work desks with an ergonomic chair. But even in high season, the weekend rates drop significantly, luring leisure travelers who will appreciate the giant TVs, chaise lounge, and blackout curtains. The third-floor Sky Bridge over Kearny Street connects this giant hotel with Chinatown's Portsmouth Square, and the Financial District and North Beach are steps away. Constructed in the early 1970s, the Hilton is nothing to look at but occupies a plot of land whose history dates back to gold-rush days.

In a 1926 Florentine Renaissance–style structure that once housed banks and other financial enterprises, this upscale chain draws travelers seeking historical flavor and a prime downtown location right on the California Street cable car line. The lobby's glittering crystal chandeliers, dark mahogany paneling, and iron-and-marble staircase recall a bygone era of gentility. Meanwhile, the ample, immaculate guest rooms, with their high ceilings, crown molding, San Francisco–theme imagery, carved-mahogany furniture, and bathrooms with marble vanities, reinforce the period feel while being contemporary with the usual tech amenities.